Misty Ngorongoro Crater Photo

Photographer’s Note

My main computer where most of my photos are kept is broken and being fixed, but I have this one on another computer, so I thought I post it, and for those of you who followed some of my safari series earlier, I like to take us back to that part of the splendid continent for some more of the amazing wildlife and landscape.

This one is of a rainy day at Ngorongoro Crater.

My intension here is to show the overall area: the lake, the savana, the hill of the crater, the misty environment. The flamingos are just a little bonus in this composition.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest intact caldera in an exceptional geographical position, forming a spectacular bowl of about 265 square kilometres with sides up to 600m deep, the stalking ground of around 20,000 to 30,000 wild animals at any one time.

The crater floor consists of a number of ecological environments that include grassland, swamps, forests and Lake Makat, a central soda lake filled by the Munge river. All these various habitats attract various wildlife to drink, wallow, graze, hide or climb. Although animals are free to move in and out of this contained environment, the rich volcanic soil, lush forests and spring source lakes on the crater floor tend to incline both grazers and predators to remain here throughout the year.

patdeph, pauloog, ChrisJ, rginer, jhm, Kielia, shevchenko, trekks, danos, bakes888, maloutim trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

muunal (234) 2009-06-09 10:44

A fascinating photo...Only one critism is maybe flamingos occupy at least 1/3 of the frame...

patdeph (17308) 2009-06-09 10:51

hello Way
maybe this picture is less spectacular that the first one you had posted fo the flamingos,but this is still very impressive to see this great number of birds in the water!They lighten the picture with their splendid colour!The sharpness is so excellent that it gives a 3D impression!I like the soft atmosphere given bu the clouds,and I find that the landscape is superb!
Regards
Pascale

chawax (5681) 2009-06-09 11:03

Hi Way,
Very nice picture. I love the three layers of your picture : cloudy mountains on the top, green banks in the middle and flamingos at the bottom. Despite the cloudy weather, you had a very nice light.
Regards,
Olivier

gildasjan (23235) 2009-06-09 11:23

Bonjour Way
Une image très bien composée avec tous ces plans et ce contraste de couleurs.La partie nuageuse donne aussi une belle touche à ceytte image.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
gildas

Greg1949 (8499) 2009-06-09 11:29

WOW Way, this one is awesome, like "Out of Africa" but before he flew over in the Tiger Moth. Great technicals, looks perfect to me.

Greg

jemaflor (38801) 2009-06-09 12:16

Hi Way,
Super landscape with all these flamingos and reflection, great result.

CLODO (3938) 2009-06-09 12:24

Nice overall view with the different horizontal layers of colours, but the pink flamingos are really far away and represent a small part of your picture (1/8 of the total shot).
regrads from
CLODO

blueswan (0) 2009-06-09 12:38

Nice work!

emka (21127) 2009-06-09 13:04

Hi Way, I remember anyour another photo of flamingoes. Splendid view of the crater. And impressive number of birds. Maybe you could make a bit if noise and they woukld fly, it would be even more spectacular? Of course, I am just joking. Great shot.

Regards

Malgorzata

pauloog (6278) 2009-06-09 15:11

Hello Way,
A fine view showing the rosy birds in their wider environment with the different layers of vegetation.
Regards,
Paul

ChrisJ (69368) 2009-06-09 17:47

Hi Way

Fantastic repetition of the pink flamingoes, with good sharpness & reflections. Nice capture of the suspended bg clouds. Tfs!

MarcT (20981) 2009-06-09 22:58

Hi Way,
That's a famous place I'd like to see...
And those pink flamingos are the stars of the place.
Cheers
Marc

sevy (12797) 2009-06-09 23:45

Hello Way,

It is a dream place you present here. I would like one day to be able to see it by myself.
Nice foreground with all the pink birds, well visible on the dark water.
Nice setting of the contrast, no so easy with the cloudy sky.

Yves.

ktanska (16353) 2009-06-10 2:08

Hi Way,
Obviously a great place to visit, familiar from many nature documents. Amount of flamingos is impressive. Special light with low hanging clouds and sun shining on birds.
Kari

aadilj (17950) 2009-06-10 2:25

Hello Way, this composition is very lovely. I like the way you have fitted in so many layers of the nature and the way you have nuanced the colours and the width of this immensely pleasing and superb scene

rginer (525) 2009-06-10 4:47

Hi Way,
Ngorongoro is a spectacular place, no doubt ! This is a wonderful view. You have given a fantastic light and color to the water and flamingoes, contrasting with the background ! Me too, I still remember your sensational photograph with the flamingoes and the gazelles !!
Best regards !
Roser

jhm (81561) 2009-06-10 4:57

Hello Way,

The blue colour tintes of the mountains between the clouds is very nice.
Also the pink pelicans care for a great nature , also the area makes the picture attractive.
You took a very nice image.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

Kielia (8111) 2009-06-10 12:21

Hello Way,
I think that this image is even more impressive than the other ones from your safari, it is the entire landscape in its beauty and the mist that create a wonderful impression. The reflections are also superb. Very beautiful colors and light. My compliments!
Warm regards
Harriet

Jeppo (11560) 2009-06-11 0:16

Hi Way,

a little bonus????? they are a gem casted into a majestic crown of nature.

I like this overall view....but the flamingo...they are like an hymn to nature....a hymn to joy....so...why don't we look at this shot having Beethoven's "Hymn to joy" as a soundtrack??

ciao
jeppo

shevchenko (9694) 2009-06-11 22:12

Hello Way,
Amazing view of mother land as habitat to plants and animals, very natural the greenery environment and fresh feel with clouds and water, distinct photo, good pov to frame it, well done.
Ally

Angshu (33185) 2009-06-12 2:17

Sabaidie Way
A picture taken 4 years ago! The quality of the scan is excellent! Love the flock of pink flamingoes in the shallow water of the crater. The loming clouds over the crater rim also adds to the mood. I wished I could see the flamingoes closer, but that said, we would not have been able to see the beauty in the BG hills in that case. I'll stay with this version, & I like it
Best regards
Angshu

jimkil (524) 2009-06-13 2:50

Lovely Way
Firstly good to see you still around..... quality is needed here with all the absent members now gone.. you fit that quality bracket. Excellent scan, looks very crowded here but a very enjoyable scene. Light and colours are very natural indeed.
Regards
Jim

trekks (14260) 2009-06-13 20:16

hi Way

The light and glow on the birds, the water is not strong on this photo as your earlier post and without comparison, this is itself a superb wide view to include the mountain slope and the clouds overhanging.

In fact this gives a better idea of the surrounding landscape where the flock of birds would be. From this distance of course the reflection is only faint but still very much visible to tell me the lake water is calm and everything is just nature without disturbance, not even from the photographer.

Good work.

tfs, bill

p/s a computer fix? I hope the data files are intact. Any backup data? Good luck. Make sure the person who fix your PC do not steal your images! Copyright issues, remember?

holmertz (9200) 2009-06-14 6:50

Hello Way,
The various layers of colour make this a very nice composition. Although the flamingos certainly add life and spectacular colours, the main focus of this picture is the landscape. I visited Ngorongoro several years ago. Can you imagine I didn't even bother to bring a camera? That was before the days of small, lightweight digital cameras that can be taken anywhere.
Kindest regards,
Gert

danos (31520) 2009-06-14 12:02

Hi Way,
nice scene in this rainy day with all these flamingos tom make the scene dreamily.Great the life of the shot as the Green Mt. in the background that complete the whole scenery.Well done.

Have a nice week,Danos

Colombiana (2538) 2009-06-14 19:51

Hey Way,
I agree the flamingos are a great bonus to the composition. Truly amazing landscape! Your eco-experience in Tanzania must have been unforgettable.

Best regards from rainy Miami
Maryori :)

I am flattered to be part of your fav's...thanks Way!

bakes888 (18045) 2009-06-15 1:03

Hello Way. Although the flamingos are just a bonus they certainly add their colour to the scene. Nice atmosphere with the misty BG and nice layer composition. Thanks for sharing.
Have a good week, Paul.

zmey (7242) 2009-06-15 10:58

a fantastic view, way! it seems, the light was not cooperating with you, but you still managed to show is this colorful gathering in a very pleasing way.

warm regards,
kristaps

darek1978 (11048) 2009-06-17 8:48

Hi Way,
The composition is fantastic, well balanced and very eyecatching. I can't imagine a better hour and POV.
The colours are really like a painting. I like a lot the colorful flamings in the foreground. Congratulations!
Best regards,
Darek

eversmile (5888) 2009-06-19 1:20

Hi Way,

That's a fine composition with lovely hues of colors, almost pastel, which is quite surprising (if not the flamingos and high mountain, I would think of Tuscany). There is a beautiful harmony between the different layers, and the clouds bumping in the sky add a joyful, unruly touch. But, why, suddenly, do I think to change this into a bookmark?! I don't know but I concretised my idea by a WS.
Regards
Marine

[workshop] [compare] +

Tobias__Ortmann (2589) 2009-06-20 10:22

Hi way,
great picture of the ngorongoro crater.How I miss him:(
well great field of depth and nice colours
best regards Toba

pablominto (39832) 2009-06-22 5:17

Hello Way,

This image shows well the importance of wetlands for many species of birds!
Weather they stay permanently or make a pit stop during the migration, wetland is the place for refuelling and getting some rest...
I like this layered composition, showing thousands of flamingos - educational value!

Greetings,
Pablo -

MarianneS (14262) 2009-06-22 13:51

Hello Way,
"just a little bonus"??? Waow! To my mind, these flamingos are giving a magic touch to this place.
Without them, it would be nice, of course. But thanks to these beautiful birds (above all with such a nice light enhancing their colour), the site looks fantastic.
A beautiful photo!
Cheers,
Marianne

maloutim (3887) 2009-07-09 11:37

Hi Way!
I commented a similar photo of yours before, but the flamingoes were closer! Here, I love the four birds in flight, and the beautiful blue hills in the background decorated by the white clouds!
Great composition!
Best regards!
Marie Louise.

jwmunro (6851) 2009-10-14 19:25

Hello Way -

What a lovely place! This is one of he venues that my wife and I would like to visit on our next trip to East Africa. I do like the whole feel to this image - the mist and clouds are a real addition to the scene and the reflection of the birds in the lake adds another dimension of depth. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John